The Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities is in its 27th year of operation. It has been successful in providing a forum for researchers on behavioral aspects of theory and research in mental retardation and has served as the main annual meeting for behavioral researchers from all of the major research centers. One third of its participants are students who attend with their mentors. It therefore has an important research training function for future MR researchers. Its program features about 100 submitted papers, 6 major addresses on related specific "themes" from outside the field of mental retardation and recognition of outstanding student papers. These "outside" keynote speakers infuse the conference attendees with new ideas from contemporary cognate fields of research, and MR researchers in turn inform them of important MR research ideas which impact on their work.